The Search for Mew
by Chelsea Lynne
Summary: Previously "Pokemon Prophecies: The Search for Mew" Carrie Ann Harper thought her life couldn't get any worse. But when a mysterious creature showed up one winter night, she knew she was wrong. Inspired by Thunderstarter's "Into the Void" series.
1. C0: Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own or pretend to own Pokemon and any related characters. I do, however, own Carrie Ann Harper. She's my character. Don't use her without my permission.**

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Prologue

_Two Years Earlier_

The trees stirred in the silence of the cold winter night. No one was out. Of course not, it was less than thirty degrees outside. The slight breeze that was passing through the countryside was the first in a few hours, but it brought with it warmth strong enough to melt the icicles off of the tree branches it swam through. Its goal was to successfully navigate out of the forest, but it hadn't expected the quaint town to be standing in its path. It went too far, alarming an adolescent girl out of her night's rest by the tickle of the wind that passed through the solid walls of her house. It was odorless, the air, but there was something off about its presence on one of the coldest nights the teenager had experienced yet. She squinted; trying to see what had intruded her room and bothered her sleep. A dog lay on her lap, startled awake by the girl's restlessness and started to bark madly, bringing the rest of the family into her small bedroom. They were eased by the sudden warmth, the baby boy's cries silenced by the comfortable air of the room. The air wasn't still, though, and it found odd comfort by the presence of a younger girl.

All of a sudden, two angular ovals - the shapes of eyes, really - became visible, the shapes glowed a bright blue. The room froze; the family went unconscious as a whole, dropping to the floor unharmed. They were in another world, smiles on their sleeping faces, content with their imagination. But the younger adolescent was still standing, eyes wide with fear, and the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight up.

From the two eyes came a large bubble, which spread around her and the glowing shapes. From inside the orb, the outside looked tinted, and the eyes revealed a floating body with wings that weren't quite wings on a bird as much as they were wings on an airplane, with the sole purpose of balance. The creature was white, with a blue stomach, as well as its wings, and on its forehead a blue triangle outline. Two blue spots were on its side, which suddenly popped out to reveal they were arms.

The creature's eyes closed, focusing, an almost quizzical look on its face. It opened its eyes again, still glowing, and reassurance and astonishment was visible in its features. It closed its eyes again, its mouth forming silent syllables, and a bright white light erupted from its palms, which were joined together in front of the girl.

When the light dissipated, a small orb about the size of a human's hand was resting in the creature's palms. Its eyes opened, the blue glow fading to reveal red, tired eyes. Its irises begged the girl to take the item, and she did obediently.

As she pocketed the strange object, the bubble surrounding her and the creature shrank until it was nothing, and the only thing visible was a thin outline of the creature.

The girl dropped to the floor.

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**AN**

**First off, thank you for reading. This is my first story ever published or written. I admit, it was written on my iPod originally, because I was bored one day. But I want to become a beta reader, so I figured I need to publish something, why not this random story?**

**A lot of the story includes aspects of my life, the main character is based off of me, and you'll see more of that the earlier chapters.**

**Please review, I'd like some feedback. I plan to post new chapters on a weekly basis, but chapter one will be posted tomorrow just in case I can't get any internet access in a week. I'm moving to Illinois.**


	2. C1: Remembering

**Disclaimer: I do not own or pretend to own Pokemon and any related characters. I do, however, own Carrie Ann Harper. She's my character. Don't use her without my permission.**

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Chapter 1

Remembering

_Present Day_

Carrie Ann Harper was digging through her closet. Her family was moving once again. It had been two years since they'd moved to the Kentucky city of Elizabethtown, but the Army required her father start working in Illinois at Scott Air Force Base. It reminded her of their previous home in Virginia, when they lived on Langley Air Force Base. The different was that her mother was renting out a house for them to stay in, rather than the tiny houses the military base provided them.

They were going to sell a bunch of things they didn't need, and that included Carrie Ann's entire junior high wardrobe. She would start her freshman year in Mascoutah, where their rented house was located. She couldn't wait, really. She would be able to restart her entire life. She could change her image, her hair, her personality, and no one would know the old, boring, hated Carrie Ann. She'd already cropped her long hair into a cute bob, and her braces came off last week. All she had left was her wardrobe.

As she threw her clothes into separate piles, she heard a soft, muffled _clink_ as a pair of sweatpants hit the carpeted floor. She hardly recognized the pair; the last time she wore them was two winters ago, when the ice storm hit, and temperatures were below freezing. She had worn the pair to bed while the power was out to keep war.

Images of that night flashed through her mind, the sound of her older sister's dog barking at the air, the warmth of her room, and two glowing eyes.

She dug through the sweatpants to find the source of the clinking sound, trying to remember what she had kept. Everyone else had passed out that night, and she had been separated from them, by a thin tinted film. No, a bubble. And that… thing…

Carrie Ann's hand hit something, and as she pulled it out of the dark of the pocket, it reflected the light so suddenly, with so much force, that it caused the room to be filled with a white light, and all of her memory of that cold winter night came back to her in the instant of the blinding light.

The light dimmed, and she saw, truly, what the object was. It was about the size of a billiard ball, but it was clear. Inside it was a single drop of water, floating in the exact center of the sphere as if the empty space of the sphere was actually a clear gel that kept the droplet in place.

But there was something different about the droplet. It was a crystalline blue, rather than colorless, like rain water. It acted as a prism the same, though, taking the overhead light and painting rainbows on Carrie Ann's walls.

What was it?

To answer her own question, she went to her desktop computer and opened up her web browser and the Google homepage. She typed in a few keywords, and the hits appeared. Fan sites. Serebii, Bulbapedia, Wikipedia. Fan sites for the Pokémon craze.

Carrie Ann laughed. That old kid's game, it had been a few months since she'd last picked up her copy to play. She clanked over to a box she's been placing items I to sell at the yard sale, and saw her six cartridges sitting on the top. It had been a tough decision, but she'd figured she needed to end her love of the series like her parents had wanted her to years ago. She pulled the box over and grabbed her cartridges, pocketing them. Maybe she would play them for a couple more years.

Back to her search results. Carrie Ann discovered that the object she was now in possession of was the Soul Dew, and that the owner is to guard it.

So why her? Why was Carrie Ann chosen to guard something so valuable to Pokémon, so… so… fictional?

She knew that Pokémon was based off of real life and mythological creatures, that most of the stories behind certain Pokémon were based off of real mythology. She was certain that Pokémon were fake, but that night, she knew she saw what she saw. And now she was in possession of the Soul Dew, which further questioned her knowledge.

_Were_ Pokémon real?


	3. C2: Visitors

**Disclaimer: I do not own or pretend to own Pokemon and any related characters. I do, however, own Carrie Ann Harper. She's my character. Don't use her without my permission.**

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Chapter 2

Visitors

She heard a car slow to a stop outside, and heard her mom yelling at people to move their car. Whoever stopped outside obviously parked her family's driveway.

From her bedroom upstairs, she could hear the people outside talking to her mother.

"We need to search your house, ma'am," Carrie Ann heard a low, no-doubt male voice say.

Her mother protested, "Why? We're not doing anything illegal. And our house is completely checked out for the new homeowners!" The Harper's landlord decided to sell the house, rather than continue to rent it out.

"You're family is not doing anything illegal, ma'am." This time, it was a woman who spoke, with a slight French accent. "But we have heard from some of the residents in this neighborhood that there have been strong scents of marijuana around the block, and it is routine for our crew to inspect everyone's house to ensure your family's safety." The woman's voice was calm and reassuring.

But Carrie Ann's mother wasn't going to give in that easily. "I have lived here for two years, and sit on my deck daily, and never once have I smelled any pot burnin'. So why don't you and your little crew go back into yer big black vans, and drive the hell off my driveway!" Her southern accent was starting to lay on thick.

Carrie Ann couldn't help but be nosy, so she went over to the top of the stairs and eavesdropped with a view as well. From here, the young teenager discovered that both the visitors were wearing black straight pants and white t-shirts with some kind of red marking on them that was covered up by brown leather jackets; his a tough looking style, hers a stylish blazer. The man was opening a briefcase he had been carrying, making sure Carrie Ann's mother couldn't see the contents, and pulled out a slip of paper.

"Here's the search warrant," the man stated, handing the paper to the angered mother. "It clearly states that my crew and I have the authority to search every house in the Willow Creeks neighborhood, house numbers 400 through 422, and seize anything if necessary. Now, if you'll kindly step aside, ma—"

He was cut off by the sight of a small blonde boy running to his mother from the other room, his arms stretched towards the sky to signal to his mother he wanted to be held. When she obliged, he stated to suckle his thumb, staring at the two strangers at the door.

"Pwetty bwown!" the boy said, attempting to grab hold of the jacket the man was wearing, a shade of his favorite color. Unfortunately, the boy had succeeded at touching the leather, with the hand he had just taken out of his slobbery mouth.

"Matthew!" Carrie Ann's mother scolded the boy, "Why would you do that to this man's nice jacket? Carrie Ann! Come get your brother!" The last part was shouted, and Carrie Ann was lucky her mother hadn't walked up to the base of the stairs.

She stood up, and counted to five before rushing down the stairs and grabbing little Matt out of their mother's hands, then bobbed him up and down as their mother apologized to the man about his jacket.

"Hey Mom," Carrie Ann finally spoke while the man went out to his van to wipe his jacket clean, keeping up with her I-totally-wasn't-listening-in-on-the-entire-conversation-from-the-top-of-the-stairs act, "who are these people?"

That struck some interest in her mother. "My daughter has a point, who are you people anyway? Are you part of the police? The military? Government?" She stood there with her arms crossed, waiting for the French woman to answer.

"We are part of the Food and Drug Administration, ma'am, mainly the drug part," the woman answered. "We are a special organization funded by the administration called the Rejection Of Cigarettes, special-K, Energy drinks, and Trauma-causing drugs. ROCKET for short."

At that moment, the man was back, without his jacket now, and the red marks on his white shirt were now revealed as forming an R. a symbol for their organization, obviously. The logo reminded her of silly old Team Rocket from the TV show she used to watch religiously, and then she remembered the Soul Dew. She was supposed to be its guardian, since Latios gave it to her. She hadn't done a very good job for the past two years, and now ROCKETs were standing in her doorway, whether they were some health organization or not. The Soul Dew was vulnerable right now. Who knew, there could be some of their crew expertly opening her window from around back and grabbing it right off of her floor. And it would be her fault. And Latios would ashamed of her.

And why was she just now realizing it was Latios that gave it to her in the first place?

"Child, are you all right?" the French woman inquired, watching the beads of sweat form on Carrie Ann's forehead. It was then that the girl noticed the woman's blazing orange-red hair. Glancing over at the man, his hair had a subtle blue tint to it.

Quickly thinking up a reasonable excuse, Carrie Ann spoke. "Well, little Matt is two now, and he's getting heavy."

"Child o' mine," her mother broke in, "I carried you around until you were one, while I was overweight, _and_ you were so fat a baby you could hardly crawl. _Then_, I pushed your stroller around, still overweight, for another three years, and I pushed that baby stroller up Pike's damned Peak, and you're gonna sit here and complain about havin' to hold your little brother? You must be out of your smartass mind! And look, now you' got me cussin' in front of the baby in front of the damned government. You best get out my sight, else you won't be able to see after them people leave."

Carrie Ann restrained from rolling her eyes, backing up the stairs in obedience, while the two "government officials" were wide-eyed with disbelief that a mother would act that way towards her children.


	4. C3: Deja Vu

**Disclaimer: I do not own or pretend to own Pokemon and any related characters. I do, however, own Carrie Ann Harper. She's my character. Don't use her without my permission.**

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Chapter 3

Déjà Vu

The teenager got to her bedroom, everything in its place, except the Soul Dew. Of course it was missing. Now Carrie Ann was in some deep trouble. She set Matthew on her bed, who just begged to be back in her arms again.

"Geez, Matt, can you give my arms a break? Seriously, why is it that every time I want to hold you, you don't to be held, but when you do want to be held, I just want to be left alone?" She didn't mean to say it angrily, but it came out that way.

"Cold," was his response, as he rubbed his arms and made a fake sneeze for effect.

Carrie Ann noticed then the sharp drop of temperature when she had entered her bedroom. It was ninety degrees outside, and the house was set to a comfortable seventy, but her room felt about twenty degrees cooler than seventy. It reminded her of two winters ago, the temperatures were below zero, and the power was out. But somehow her older sister Jessica's room was around eighty degrees.

Matthew fell backwards, landing with his head on the pillow, knocked out all of a sudden. Carrie Ann felt an odd sense of Déjà vu, and quickly shut her door, making sure it was locked. Then, two glowing green angular ovals appeared, and a bubble formed around the eyes and Carrie Ann. The creature to the green eyes looked similar to the one that had met her in the winter, but all the places where the blue markings were, were red.

•_Latias,_• Carrie Ann thought to herself, and in her mind, someone else's voice said •_Yes._•

This spooked Carrie Ann. •_You can hear my thoughts?_•

•_Of course. I'm psychic, am I not?_• The voice in Carrie Ann's mind, distinctly feminine, was Latias', and the Pokémon giggled. •_My brother was right, you do still reside here. I don't think I would have ever found you if you didn't!_•

Carrie Ann was confused. •_Why did you need to find me?_•

Latias giggled again, as if the answer were obvious. •_To give you your instructions, of course! You see, big brother didn't know he would find you. It was all by accident that he did, really. When you were unaffected by his Hypnosis, he knew something was off. I knew it was you as soon as he used Sight Share, and confirmed it was no mistake you were unaffected. You must have been so shocked, though, that you fainted before I could get there. And then we lost the location, and the Soul Dew had no way of reflecting without light, so we couldn't find you._• Latias smiled.

•_So the whole bright light thing is like a homing device?_• Carrie Ann wondered, almost forgetting that the Pokémon could hear her thoughts.

•_Sure,_• Latias' voice sounded, •_whatever you'd like to call it. Unfortunately, since big brother first gave it to you, a certain group has been on the lookout for it, and our location technique alerted the group as well. While you have been face-to-face with them, I have been up here, keeping watch on the Soul Dew._•

Knocking on Carrie Ann's door interrupted the psychic conversation. Her mother's voice came through, "Carrie Ann, what have I told you about locking your door? Is your brother in there too? The ROCKETs need to inspect your room. Some crap about weed in the area. Open your door now!" More knocking pursued.

"Child," the French woman was speaking now. "Please let my crew in. They will scan the room and its contents, and we will be on our way."

Carrie Ann knew she would have to unlock her door, or else it would be unlocked by force, and they would see Latias.

Now the man spoke, "This is your last chance, and we're kicking down the door if we must. Open the door now."

"Just a minute! Geez, impatient," Carrie Ann yelled. •_Hide, Latias, or they'll catch you. Their scanners are probably for the Soul Dew, if they're who you say they are._• She was walking toward her door for the sound effects.

•_Yes, but I will return when they are gone. I will bring back the Soul Dew, guardian. Hide any evidence._• Latias turned invisible, her eyes disappearing with the orb that had surrounded them.

Quickly, Carrie Ann deleted her web history of anything related to the Soul Dew, and opened up Facebook before unlocking the door to her room. "Sorry about the mess, just organizing for the move and yard sale."

The French woman stood by the door while her crew scanned every nook and cranny of Carrie Ann's bedroom. No positive results, so the organization left as Carrie Ann and her mother waved goodbye, the young teenager eyeing the red R's on the sides of the vans with suspicion.


	5. C4: Instructions

**Disclaimer: I do not own or pretend to own Pokemon and any related characters. I do, however, own Carrie Ann Harper. She's my character. Don't use her without my permission.**

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Chapter 4

Instructions

Carrie Ann had just finished packing her things in their mother's car, and had returned to her empty bedroom to reminisce. There wasn't much to recall, other than the two visitations by Pokémon, and the strange group that considered them to be a government organization inspecting her house for marijuana. Other than that, nothing much happened.

Carrie Ann lay down on her freshly vacuumed carpet, relaxing for the frat time in days. In just fifteen minutes, she and her mother and little Matt would hit the road. In about four hours, she would be in Illinois, unpacking her new bedroom.

Just as she was closing her eyes, two yellow eyes opened in front of Carrie Ann. Then the entire red and white body revealed itself. This time, no bubble was needed, because two red eyes opened beside Latias' form, and then a blue and white body was revealed. It was touching to see the siblings together, yet also enchanting, and Latias must have found Carrie Ann's wonderment amusing, as a Pokemon-esque giggle escaped her smile. Latios just smirked at his little sister.

His eyes weren't exhausted as they were the last time Carrie Ann saw him. Today, they were full of energy. •S_o, what's up? Do I finally get my guidelines, or whatever?_•

Both Latios' and Latias' smiles faded to serious looks, so serious they were almost scary. Latios sounded first. •_Your instructions are not to be laughed at, guardian. You're lucky Latias came in time when the Rockets showed up._•

•_Big brother,_• Latias' soothing voice interrupted, •_don't be so hard. She didn't know._•

•_You were supposed to tell her, sister._• Latias had a look of hurt on her face, and she seemed so vulnerable. But she quickly put her emotions aside.

•_Guardian,_• Latios continued, •_you were chosen long before you were born. Long before your ancestors were born._•

•_Long before big brother and I were born, even,_• Latias put in, earning herself a glare from Latios.

The blue Pokémon continued, •_You were chosen by the Great One, who created us all, who was created by all. You were chosen as the guardian for as long as the guardian is needed, so the prophecy says. As the guardian, you must protect with your life,_•

•_Or die trying,_• Latias finished, a look of sadness painted on her face. •_Please, don't let it go to that,_• she requested. She was a good soul, Latias.

But Carrie Ann was so confused. Guard with her life? Prophecy? The Great One? •_Wait? I might die? I didn't agree to this! And am I guardian to Soul Dew, or something else? Why are you being so vague with these instructions? They're more like a description of this job I have to do!_•

The sibling Pokémon exchanged a glance, and Latias sounded. •_All will be revealed to you soon, Guardian. We must leave now. Until next time._•

The two creatures disappeared, and left floating in the air was the Soul Dew. She grabbed it, glad it wasn't making that crazy light anymore, and thankful no rainbows were splashed on the walls. Now she had to figure out this guardianship thing.


	6. C5: Discovery

**Disclaimer: I do not own or pretend to own Pokemon and any related characters. I do, however, own Carrie Ann Harper. She's my character. Don't use her without my permission.**

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**AN: Hey guys, thanks for reading my story so far! I've been getting a few reviews, and that makes me happy! I know updates have been kind of sporadic, but I'm trying to get into a bi-weekly update basis (Mondays and Thursdays?) through to chapter 17. Yes, I've written 17 chapters so far. Actually, they've been finished since December 2010. Yeah... So I'll try to get weekly updates out.**

**I wanted to clear something up. Up to chapter 15 was written in July and August 2010. Since then, I didn't change anything except any grammatical errors. Honestly, I haven't even read any of it since it was first written. Kinda bad, but still. So... Carrie Ann is **_NOT_** a Mary-Sue. The character is based off of myself, yes, but I'm not all cocky and stuff. Just like I am, Carrie Ann and all the other characters - introduced and still to come - ARE ONLY HUMAN! I cannot stress this enough. In whatever chapter it was, the whole "ROCKET" acronym, yes it would never be believed in real life, but you have to remember this is a story. And at some point while I was writing this, a lot of the stuff that seems really out-there at one point seemed like a great idea. Besides, they're laughable moments. You can laugh at some of the stuff in the story, I don't mind. You won't hurt my feelings. In fact, I laughed at some of the stuff while writing it, knowing it was outrageous.**

**Now, with the length of the chapters... Um, I wrote pretty much all the way to chapter 17 (which is where I have it written up to) on my iPod Touch. Which means the screen is fairly skinny and small. So the chapters are short, I realize as I put them onto a real computer. The paragraphs are short as well. Now, there are a few chapters that are extremely long compared to the short ones, but I don't plan on going in and adding tons of meat onto the chapters already written. Call me lazy. I promise, though, just bear with me to chapter 17, and then I'll start cranking out some lengthy chapters. Deal?**

**Without further ado, Chapter Five!**

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Chapter 5

Discovery

The silver car came to a stop at a gas station, and Carrie Ann went into the store to get drinks and snacks. After grabbing a Snapple for her mother and a Sunkist for herself, Carrie Ann observed the snacks, unsure of what to get. She knew her mother wanted Fritos, but Carrie Ann was torn between some cheddar cheese Combos and some nacho cheese Doritos.

She heard the automatic doors open, and she was just tall enough to see over the shelves of food to spy a blonde lady in a skimpy blue tank top and short shorts get sent out of the store for bringing in a pet. It was so stereotypical, a blonde girl carrying her dog wherever she goes. The dog was adorable, though, an orange-blonde coat, with a furry neck that seemed so unrealistic, like it was just a fuzzy collar. The puppy had the cutest tuft of hair on its head, too. Carrie Ann simply smiled at the girls attempt to bring the animal in the store, though if she was so stereotypical to be a blonde in skimpy clothes carrying a kick-me dog, she probably hadn't even read the 'NO PETS ALLOWED' sign by the door.

She decided on Combos and paid for her things, as the blonde walked back in, dog-less, and went to find some snacks. Carrie Ann went back out to her mom's car and told her about the girl.

"Carrie Ann, trust me; that dog was a Chihuahua, with fur so blonde, it was practically white," her mother insisted.

The car finally pulled into the driveway of the Harper family's new home, and Carrie Ann jumped out of the front seat, her legs begging to be stretched. She looked around; no one was out today. It was ten a.m. Saturday morning, so that might have had something to do with it.

Carrie Ann grabbed her things and rushed into the house through the unlocked interior garage door. They had arrived before her sister and dad, who had taken the other car, and Carrie Ann would get to choose her bedroom before Jessica. After picking the room at the very end of the hall, because it seemed larger than the other two - other than the master bedroom - she set her things down and opened up her DS. She had been playing Pokémon since they got in the car, and now that they were at their new home in Mascoutah, Carrie Ann could hook up her laptop and try to steal some Wi-Fi.

Connected to the Internet, she Googled the Soul Dew Guardian. Just one hit came up about the guardianship, in some kid's fan fiction. She was talking about a bunch of prophecies, and what they meant.

Apparently this kid's whole Fan fiction account was dedicated to the prophecies. Real prophecies from Greece and Rome, to Fake prophecies, from Pokémon to Digimon to Bakugon.

Scrolling through the list of his works, Carrie Ann saw the 'Soul Dew Prophecy,' and clicked the link. Apparently, the Soul Dew Prophecy was written Before Mew, and states that a chosen one will obtain the Soul Dew through the Eon Pokémon, and be known as the Guardian. That's all the prophecy states, apparently, according to the kid, but he's some kind of philosopher, because he goes on for another two paragraphs explaining the meaning and origin.

Supposedly, so the kid believes, Pokémon and all things related were originally what this world was. But after the continents started to shift, they went into frenzy. All the Pokémon were in misery, so Mew used her powers to change the lovable Pokémon into forms more like humans, without powers, without abilities. Although many believe that Pokémon were formed from our life, it is truly the opposite.

Going back to the prophecy at hand, the kid explains how the Guardian has the ability to look past the cover and awaken Mew to her true form, so that she may the rest of the Pokémon.

So now Carrie Ann knew what she was supposed to do. At least, she hoped. That was just one kid's idea of the prophecy. Who knew if he even had the right prophecy. Who knew if Carrie Ann hadn't just dreamed up all this Soul Dew stuff in the first place?

She knew. And the Soul Dew was proof.

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**So yeah, hope you like the story so far! Chapter six will be up on Monday!**

**Also, I just went in and did some technical updates to all the old chapters, such as italicizing things and stuff. Disclaimers as well.**


	7. C6: Escape

**AN: Ack! I'm a day late, I know I know, I'm sorry guys! I decided to enter into the UBF over at dA this year, so I joined yesterday morning, and spent all day working on my application that's due in 1 day and 7 hours. Oh, and the entry for Round 1 is due then, too! ACK WHY DID I CHOOSE TO JOIN WITH NO TIME TO DO ANYTHING? Well, yeah...**

**Anyway, chapter 6 you guys! (hm, this on is like really short (I think) sorry!)**

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Chapter 6

Escape

Carrie Ann made sure her blanket was neatly folded over her air mattress the next morning. She woke up early, unexpectedly, and silently readied herself for the day. It was seven, long before anyone else in the house would be up, so she made some waffles and flipped open her laptop.

She still had her Internet connection, and checked the news to see what was going on in the local area. Nothing happening in Mascoutah, but apparently Chicago was being hit by heavy rain. Carrie Ann muted the computer before playing the live footage. The newscaster seemed to focus in on all the Wingull - well, seagulls - that were in the area. •_They must be enjoying the rain,_• Carrie Ann thought to herself.

Finding a news-website for St. Louis, she checked out the headlines. Some mayor drama. The Arch looks beautiful. Five strange robberies last yesterday. Stray cats becoming a trend.

Wait a minute, five robberies? Carrie Ann clicked the link, sending her to an online article in the newspaper. Apparently, five restaurants were broken into without the alarms being set off, with no money left anywhere, except a penny right by the door. Now Carrie Ann was interested. There was a robber loose in St. Louis, and someone had to stop him.

Grabbing her Mickey Mouse sweater and her satchel from her room, Carrie Ann decided she would take a morning walk to try and help her mind focus.

Carrie Ann returned home at a quarter past eight, and still, nobody was awake. She sat back down with her laptop, set down her satchel, and pulled out a small notebook. She had been working on training in her Pokémon training lately, and had some stats to record.

She searched through her bag to grab her DS, forgetting she'd left it upstairs the night before, and grabbed hold of a sphere.

That's weird. Carrie Ann knew the Soul Dew was in her pocket. Reaching into her pants pocket, she confirmed it. There was the Soul Dew. So what was in her satchel? Pulling the object out of her bag, she saw it was a Poke Ball. Weird, why was it in her bag? How did it even get there in the first place?

Examining it, she noticed a decal on it, a lightning bolt.

How cliché, the hero gets a Pikachu, right? At least Carrie Ann could evolve it into the all powerful Raichu. Her personal favorite.

Praying for it to be silent, she threw the ball into the air, saying the words "Go, Pokémon!"

The capsule opened, letting out a white light, though not blindingly so, and a blue sheep with yellow wool appeared. So not cliché. At the sight of Carrie Ann, the sheep trotted up to her and stood on its hind legs like a dog, its front legs pressed into Carrie Ann's thighs.

"Hey, slow down there, Mareep!" Carrie Ann said. She recognized the species instantly. Letting out a giggle, she looked down at the Pokémon. "I'm Carrie Ann. So, how did your Poke Ball end up in my satchel, you cute little sheep?"

It almost sounded like a purr, the noise the Mareep let out as Carrie Ann massaged the top of its head. She was extra careful not to come in contact with the wool, though. Like a Pikachu's cheek pouches, a Mareep stores its electricity in its wool.

"Well," Carrie Ann went on, "I need to name you. So, are you a boy, or girl?"

"Mar-eeeeep!" the Pokémon exclaimed, causing Carrie Ann to laugh.

"I take that you're a girl." Mareep smiled up at Carrie Ann. "Well, since you're gonna grow up to be a mighty Amphoras one day; we gotta name you something fitting now. And not something cheesy, either. Sparky is way too common these days. Hm… Amphoras…"

"Mareep!"

"Ha ha, yah. How about… Wooly?" Carrie Ann joked. The Pokémon gave her a disgusted look. "Flamphy? Amphoria?" At the sound of the last name, The Mareep's wool coat shone, as if to show her joy. "Amphoria it is, then. I'll just call you Amphy for short."

The Pokémon got over the joy of seeing its trainer and walked around the empty room, observing the place. Then, its tail lifted into the air, the orb on the end glowing blue. "Reep reep!" she beckoned, but Carrie Ann didn't know what to do. She grabbed the Soul Dew and put it into her satchel, and she heard footsteps upstairs.

"Amphy, return," Carrie Ann said softly, holding the Poke Ball as the Pokémon became a red stream of light. She could hear her mother and dad talking upstairs, and Carrie Ann knew she couldn't be the Guardian like this, hiding everything of it from her parents. But they couldn't know. They just couldn't.

She grabbed her satchel and packed up her laptop. There was a creek behind her house she could follow. She wrote a quick note and posted it on the fridge.

_'Love you guys, wish I could tell you. But I can't. And I can't stay in hiding. Please, don't try to find me. Don't try to look for me. I'll see you again, I hope. Your daughter, Carrie Ann'_

Carrie Ann quietly slid open the back door, and jumped over the railing off her deck, landing on the ground with a thud. She went into the brush and stepped into the cool water, running downstream with Amphy by her side.

* * *

**Um, I'm gonna go ahead and tomorrow upload chapter 7, since it's also short... ^.^;;**


	8. C7: Run

**AN: This was supposed to be up yesterday, but I was busy. I DID make it into UBF R1, hoping I will pass, because I did the comic in MS Paint in black and white. Actually, it wasn't even 'shaded' so... yeah... but I got it done!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Run

It seemed like the creek never ended, but the trees surrounding it eventually did. The creek ran through the golf course, but the trees didn't, so Carrie Ann would have to turn around to escape trough the cornfields.

She turned around to face a crowd of angry Barboach and Finneon and Goldeen.

"Amphy, use an electric attack!" Carrie Ann ordered, and the little Mareep stepped in front of Carrie Ann, shutting her eyes tight, the orb on her tail white, and let loose a powerful Shockwave attack, knocking out all of the Pokémon at once. "Good job!" Carrie Ann praised as the two rushed back upstream.

When the cornfields were finally in sight, they snuck into one, navigating it as best they could. They could've been walking in circles. Carrie Ann got tired finally, and sat down on a couple of the growing stalks. She put her satchel on her lap, Amphy relaxed next to her, and she made sure the Soul Dew was still there. It was. Now, Carrie Ann wanted to see if anything else was in her bag. There was. A PokeDex, five empty Poke Balls, a couple of berries and potions. And a card. Whoever gave her this stuff had already put Carrie Ann's picture on the card, as well as her name, and a trainer ID. 08832. It even had today's date on it as the day she had become a trainer. On the back was a strip meant for a signature, which Carrie Ann wrote right then.

Looking deeper in the bag, she found a short stick with fishing line on the end, and her journal that she kept her Raichu's records in. And of course, her iPod, DS, and phone were still there, with their chargers. She turned her phone off. She didn't want anyone calling to look for her.

So, Carrie Ann was officially a trainer now. And she saw everything as it truly is, rather than the cover. And she was the Guardian, and had to awaken Mew somehow.

Great.

* * *

**Posting C8 in a sec!**


	9. C8: Others

**AN: I think this is the longest Chapter. Also:: finally, introducing some new characters! The plot is about to truly take off!**

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Chapter 8

Others

Carrie Ann had made it to the nearby town of O'Fallon. She needed a chai tea, so she stopped by the Starbucks. And saw her mother with her tea, crying in the lounge area, being comforted by strangers. While her daughter just walked in. Carrie Ann had almost forgotten to put Amphy back into her Poke Ball, but then remembered that people aren't used to seeing Pokémon. Well, a kid walking around with a sheep is all they saw.

"Chai, nonfat, no foam," she told the barista, and when he asked for a name, she said, "Jinnette."

There's nothing wrong with using a fake name to buy a tea in the same coffee shop as your crying mother that you just ran away from the day before.

Carrie Ann got her drink and headed for the door, staring at her mother as she recited the note to everyone that came through and bothered to listen, and even the ones that didn't stop walking to listen.

Carrie Ann nearly missed the door, if a hot blonde guy hadn't started speaking to the barista. His voice was so soft, but rough at the same time. Was that even possible? He told the barista his name was Stenzin, and Carrie Ann knew it had to be his last name. She made it seem like she was never heading towards the door at all, and sat down at a cafe table. Luckily, there was an outlet right by her, so she plugged in her laptop and connected to the free Wi-Fi.

She was at the perfect angle where her mother wouldn't see Carrie Ann, but Carrie Ann still had a great view of 'Stenzin.' He obviously noticed her long stares as she focused more on him than the computer screen as she pretended to type.

He glanced over at her, as she quickly acted as if she'd been staring at the computer screen the whole time, and the bulletin board with a picture of a missing girl who ran away from her home in Mascoutah.

He started to make his way towards her table, and she started getting nervous. She glanced up at the community board he kept studying. And of course, there was a picture of her, the day she got her braces off. And of course, she just happened to run away wearing those exact clothes.

The guy sat down across from her at the small cafe table, and grabbed her computer, flipping it around so the screen was facing him. A hot blush crept up her neck as he saw the word file with random letters she'd been pressing to seem like she was typing something up and she was really focused.

And now this guy is going to expose her, bring her over to her mother, who's across the room. Carrie Ann would never fulfill the prophecy.

"What language is this?" the boy asked, jokingly curious.

Carrie Ann was surprised at his calm. "Um… Gibberish," she played along. "I'm fluent, you know."

The boy laughed. "Jinnette? Is that your name?" Then, he lowered his voice to an inaudible whisper, "And you don't think the barista wouldn't recognize you, standing right in front of your own picture?"

Carrie Ann leaned in to hear. "I didn't know my picture was there, or that my mother would be here." He gave her a quizzical look, and she just said, "The crying lady."

Stenzin smirked, and told her to just play along with his act. "I'm playin' with ya, babe. So, how about you and I go out to lunch today."

Carrie Ann's eyebrows shot way up. So he was playing the boyfriend card. This could either help her safely get out of here, or trap her and get her sent off to who knows where.

"Go out?" Carrie Ann scoffed. "To you, going out means Chinese take-out." She crossed her arms for effect.

"No, babe, I mean go out for real this time. I just got a raise, and I am taking you to the Olive Garden, babe!" His smirk turned into a hopeful grin, and Carrie Ann had to stifle a laugh. He was so funny, but so hot at the same time. And yet, he was a complete stranger.

"Okay. Let me just finish up this paper. I'm almost done. Do you mind waiting outside? Your beauty captures me, and I can't focus on anything but you." Carrie Ann was having fun with this.

Stenzin sat outside drinking his iced mocha, and Carrie Ann finished typing her gibberish paper. About five minutes later, she started to pack up her computer. She was extra careful not to be seen by her sobbing mother, and once she was packed, she picked up her tea and kissed the blonde boy's cheek.

It was part of the act, but Carrie Ann couldn't help but want a kiss on the lips from this boy. "So, /Stenzin,/ I finished my paper. How about some lunch?" She giggled.

He looked up at her, and grabbed her by the arm, and he lifted her up into the passenger seat of his blue Mercedes convertible. She put her laptop on the floor of the backseat, but kept her satchel.

They hit the road towards Fairview Heights to continue with the charade. Carrie Ann was first to break the silence, turning down the radio volume. "So, what's your name?" she asked politely, curiously.

"Cody. Cody Stenzin. And what about you, 'Jinnette?'" he inquired, using the same silly name she had written on her Starbucks cup.

"Wow, you don't know?" Carrie Ann joked. "I'm not famous around here or anything like that?"

Stenzin did that silly smirk if his, that hot, silly smirk. "No, not really. You just disappeared from your brand new house the morning after you got there with a note that said you had some deep dark secret or some crap, and that no o e needs to look for you. Oh, and you weren't that confident about seeing your family again. Yes you're famous around here. But I wanna hear it from you, Jinnette."

Carrie Ann couldn't help but giggle at Stenzin's sarcastic description of her actions. "I'm Carrie Ann. Carrie Ann Harper."

"Stupid question;" Stenzin started, "Why not have people call you /just/ Carrie, or /just/ Ann?"

"Because," Carrie Ann replied, "why would it make sense to put the word 'just' in front of your name? Hi, I'm just Carrie, nice to meet you? Doesn't work that great."

Now it was his turn to laugh. "You know what I meant."

"I know," Carrie Ann said. "My name is /Carrie Ann/ Harper, not /Carrie/ Ann Harper. It's just the way I like it." Carrie Ann never really had to justify calling herself by her first and middle name, so she didn't know how.

Now she was curious. "Why did you do that whole act thing for me? Why didn't you just turn me in? I'm sure you would've gotten a reward or something."

"You really are new around here, aren't you?" Stenzin said. Carrie Ann just gave him a look that said, 'Duh.' "I'm a runaway too. Ran away when I was six."

"So how old are you now?" Carrie Ann wondered.

"Don't worry; I'm not old enough to be a pedophile." She pinned his arm playfully. "I didn't like it at my house; I thought it would be easier on my own. Wrong. But if I turned you in, I'd turn myself in too. And then my parents would hate me."

"Reminds me of mine. Always yelling, as if I do nothing right," Carrie Ann mumbled.

"Is that why you ran away?" Stenzin asked.

Carrie Ann looked at the boy, what could she say? She couldn't lie, but could she tell him the truth? "No, it's not."

Stenzin waited for her to go on, but she didn't. "So why did you run?" They were at a red light, so as they waited he studied her.

Carrie Ann hesitated. How could she say it? "Has anything…. impossible…. ever happened to you?"

He looked at her, not knowing where this was going to end up. The light turned green, and he made a left turn into the parking lot of Olive Garden. He kept going, as it connected to the parking lot of Holiday Inn. He put the car in park, and turned in his seat to face her.

"What do you mean by 'impossible'?" He wondered.

"Like," Carrie Ann thought, "you thought it could never happen, but then it did. The kind of impossible that makes you question what you thought you knew, and turned your world upside down."

Stenzin looked at her as if she were quoting his deepest darkest wishes. As if she had stolen from him the words he could never find, but he didn't feel betrayed, he felt full, that she had helped with something that had stopped him until now, when she spoke those words.

He started to lean in closer to Carrie Ann, who sternly said, "Don't kiss me." He came to his senses and sat back in his seat, thinking of an answer for her question.

He began, "Well, it seemed impossible that I would ever meet up with another runaway, and that just happened, but it wasn't as impossible as the kind of impossible you're talking about."

"Why are we at a hotel?" Carrie Ann asked, forgetting about her question and his answer.

"Huh? Oh, I figured I got a room with two beds, you can chill with me for a night or two," Stenzin answered.

"Oh, thanks." Not something Carrie Ann would exactly enjoy, what with all her morals, but he's a nice, hot guy. Why not? She should have let him kiss her.

She opened her car door and grabbed her laptop out of the back before climbing out of the car and slamming the door shut. "Lead the way," she said as he finished sliding the roof on the car and shutting his car door.

They walked up two flights of stairs before they reached his hotel room. Once inside, with the door shut, she asked him how he was paying for all this.

"I've got a job at a local restaurant. Very fancy. Big tips, we're talking twenty bucks a table in tips alone. I'm a waiter, get those tips plus my paycheck," he explained.

"Why do you use your real name instead of a fake one?"

He sighed. "It's been a long time since anyone's seen me, and I forgot my last name a long time ago. So I call myself Stenzin, because it sounds cool."

"Well, I'm gonna go shower. I spent last night in a cornfield. Got any spare clothes?" Carrie Ann asked, knowing he wouldn't have any girl's clothes.

"Sure, here's a shirt and some boxers." He tossed them over to her, and she caught them with ease, and then headed into the bathroom to have a nice hot shower and be clean. She made sure that her satchel was in the bathroom with her, just in case he was nosy.

After she finished showering and put on his clothes, she grabbed up her satchel and pulled out her Poke Ball. She let Amphy out, and told her to be quiet. "I'm in my friend's hotel room, he won't understand," Carrie Ann whispered to her Mareep, who nodded. Then she started pawing at the door. Something on the other side was pawing, too, and Carrie Ann wasn't sure if it was Pokémon or animal. Then she remembered that animals /were/ Pokémon. Great, she was confusing herself, and she was the Guardian.

"Hold on, Amphy, I'm almost done with my hair." Carrie Ann flattened the last bit of her hair before opening the door a crack. The creature on the other side was a Riolu.

How did a Riolu even get here? There wasn't anything in here earlier, and what was its cover form, anyway? It managed to squeeze in through the cracked door and started to play with Amphy. The Riolu touched the wool and was electrocuted, but it just seemed to laugh it off.

Then Stenzin came, trying to peak through the crack. "No! I... I'm indecent!" Carrie Ann lied, trying to push the door closed. He was stronger than her, though, managing to open the door more. The two Pokémon escaped into the main room, jumping on one of the beds together.

"What was that thing in her with you?" Stenzin barked at her.

"A better question would be: what was that thing that was out there, and got in here?" Carrie Ann retorted.

Neither of them had an answer for the other, and they sat in silence staring at one another as the Pokémon played, oblivious to their argument.

Finally, Stenzin spoke. "I'll tell if you'll tell."

Carrie Ann sighed. "Deal."

Stenzin walked over to his bed, while Carrie Ann picked up her satchel, thankfully dry, and Amphy's Poke Ball, which was still on the sink. And it was a miracle Stenzin hadn't seen that and started asking more questions.

She sat on the bed across from his, his Riolu in his arms. Amphy lay down next to Carrie Ann, and they all sat in silence like that for a few minutes.

"Well?" Stenzin finally said.

"You first." Carrie Ann held her breath, afraid of what he might say, what he might do. What is he didn't know they were real? What if he freaked out about a sheep magically appearing in his hotel bathroom?

But "fine" was all he said. "So, did you ever play video games?" He waited for her to answer, but she was still holding her breath. "Did you ever play Pokémon?" Again, he waited for an answer, but his Riolu pointed at her disheveled clothes, the cartridges had fallen out of the pocket.

Carrie Ann took a deep breath, glaring at the Riolu, and whispered something to her Mareep. The sheep jumped down off the bed and picked up the cartridges, bringing them over to her trainer, who put them in her satchel. She continued to glare at the Riolu as she absentmindedly rubbed the top of Amphy's head.

"Well," Stenzin continued, "I know it sounds crazy, but… This is Lulu. She's my Riolu."

Carrie Ann continued to glare at the blue Pokémon, her voice flat, guarded. "How did you get her?"

Stenzin chuckled. How odd, for one to chuckle at such a question. Well, it's a crazy story. Do you wanna hear it? It's pretty insane."

"Yes. All of it. Don't leave out any detail." Again, Carrie Ann's voice was flat, and Stenzin couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or serious or what.

"Well," he started his story, "I was hiking through the cornfields, if you wanna call it that, when all of a sudden, I get to a creek. So I walk along this creek until I can't walk anymore, so I sit down in the water. This was about two years ago. So I sit down, and all of a sudden this Manaphy pops out of the water, with her antennae all glowing red, so she's talking to me telepathically, and I'm freaking out, and she goes, protect the waters with your life, and so I'm like, might as well, Manaphy said so. But I couldn't believe it, though, that Pokémon were real, somehow.

"So I got this theory, you listening? That there were always Pokémon and that was while we had Pangea, there was on big landmass. So Pangea split, so Mew decided that all the Pokémon should just be like humans. No powers, no abilities, no nothin'. And then, in this era, some chosen kids who see what everyone else can't, we free Mew, and help everyone else see. And the chosen ones are called "Others". I'm the Sea Keeper.

"So one day I came back my room, and there's this random bag with a PokeDex and a Poke Ball, with a little fist decal. And that, ma'am, is how I got Lulu.

"I told you mine, you tell me yours." Stenzin just gave his whole life story. He wrote fake prophecies on Fan fiction, but they were real to him. And he obviously knew more about it all than Carrie Ann did.

She wouldn't even have to explain it all to him. She reached into her satchel, grabbed the Soul Dew, and tossed it at him. "Catch," she said, which he did with grace.

He chuckled, turning the small orb in his hand to examine it, and then looked up at her. "No way you're getting off that easy, Guardian. I still wanna hear a story." Stenzin was getting on Carrie Ann's nerves now, but she might as well.

So she told him about Latios giving her the Soul Dew, and her forgetting about it for two years. She told him about the Rockets, and Latias taking it for protection, and then the two siblings bringing the Soul Dew back to her. They never called her by her name, just 'Guardian,' and their instructions were vague. "But you helped with that." Stenzin was confused. "Oh, I had to go to your Fan fiction to further explain the 'Soul Dew Prophecy.' Seriously, did you come up with that stuff all on your own? Because it's scary accurate."

Stenzin never believed he would get praise for his writings, let alone in person, so he told her. "Well, I used to be so obsessed with the franchise; I wanted to know every detail. And then two years ago, when this started happening," he motioned toward his Pokémon, "I went through everything Pokémon that I knew, and scavenged up these prophecies."

Now Carrie Ann was interested. She had never been that obsessed. She pulled out her laptop and connected to the hotel's server, opening up the Fan fiction page. "So, we've gotta find the other "Others" now. That's so weird to say. Other Others." she was looking at each individual prophecy, thank god he was organized, and looked at the reviews to see if anyone reported experiencing any of the prophecies. One user said he thought he must've been dreaming the night the Bird Prophecy was fulfilled. Apparently, he was the Sky Keeper.

It seemed that the only reviewers, other than the ones from the first night of publishing, only found the page because they were looking for answers.

Carrie Ann logged in and messaged every one of the "Others" to be beneath the St. Louis Arch on then next Thursday night.

"Well," Carrie Ann said, "All of them are going to be there. The Sky Keeper, Earth Keeper, Time Keeper, Space Keeper, and of course you and I." Carrie Ann shut her laptop lid, smiling at Stenzin. "Can I call you Cody?"

* * *

**:D**


	10. C9: Meeting

**AN: IT'S MONDAY! (wow, can't believe I'm keeping this schedule...) I actually wasn't sure if I would make it today, but my game got canceled, so I got to come home early. Yay!  
****This is the other longest chapter, and after this it's back to about 1k word chaps again... n.n;;**

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Chapter 9

Meeting

Carrie Ann woke up to the smell of bacon on Thursday morning. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, glancing over at the electronic clock on the nightstand in between her bed and Cody's. It was almost ten in the morning.

She saw Cody feeding some eggs to his Lulu, and smiled at the affection he showed. He probably wouldn't have acted so sweetly if he had known Carrie Ann was awake and watching.

Then, she heard a voice in her head.

•_Protect with your life the Keepers, Guardian._• It was no doubt Latias. She was so much kinder than her big brother, and she genuinely cared. •_Trial is up ahead. But with the strength of your Keepers, you shall pursue unscathed._•

Carrie Ann absorbed this, •My _Keepers?_•

•_Of course._• Latias seemed to always say that. •_The Guardian gains power from her Keepers. She is vulnerable otherwise. As you humans say, the more, the merrier._•

•_I draw power from them? So what about them?_•

Latias giggled, •_They gain strength from the Guardian. It's all about balance. Just stay together, do not separate yourself from the Keepers. Carrie Ann, I have faith in you._•

That was the first time either of the Eon siblings had called her by her name. And since Latias hadn't used Sight Share, she either didn't want her big brother to know about the conversation, or she didn't want to have to knock out Cody.

Finally, Carrie Ann alerted Cody with her presence. "I smell bacon." She got up out of her bed, letting Amphoria out of her Poke Ball, and headed over to the room service buffet. At the sight of her up and at it, he stopped his cooing towards Lulu and sent that seductive smirk Carrie Ann's way.

Amphy went to eat alongside Lulu, as they conversed in their unique language. "So, when did you start Seeing?" Carrie Ann asked out of curiosity.

"A couple weeks after Manaphy visited me. It started out slow, though, only a couple crawdads here and there showing through their cover, and then I could See any water type. I didn't start Seeing anything else until I got my Riolu." Cody's story was intriguing. Obviously the Keepers Saw differently than the Guardian. "What about you?"

Carrie Ann laughed, "Nothing like you. I didn't start Seeing until I was given my instructions. And I never really saw any animals, since I was on the road. I saw a lady walk into a store, Mom said it was a Chihuahua, but I Saw it as a Growlithe. And then I saw live footage of all those Wingull in Chicago. Other than that, and all the Goldeen and Remoraid and stuff in the creek I followed when I ran away, I haven't really Seen anything. No opportunities, just a Houndoom or Growlithe here and there. My sister's dog is a Poocheyena."

The two ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. Tonight they would meet with the rest of the Others under the Arch in St. Louis. Carrie Ann couldn't wait; she hadn't been to the city since she was five. And she would ride alongside Cody in a convertible Mercedes the whole way there.

"Do you know what a Riolu's cover is?" Carrie Ann wondered.

Cody smirked, he was proud to say he knew. "Its cover is a dog, but because the other dog-like Pokémon walk on four legs, it adapted when it was covered."

"You know," Carrie Ann started, "you don't have to keep your cover on around me."

Cody's cheeks tinted a pale pink. He had been found out, but he wouldn't go down without a fight. "What's wrong, don't like bad boys?"

"No, I do. But I don't like fakers. Just be yourself, you've got nothing to be ashamed of." Carrie Ann's words were sweet, truthful, and Cody smiled. He started to coo his Riolu again, like he had when he thought Carrie Ann was still asleep. A warm smile was on her face as she watched Lulu enjoy the affection.

"Do you even have a license?" Carrie Ann asked, hopping into the Mercedes. The top was open, the sun beating down on the leather interior of the car.

"Nope," Cody said, storing a backpack next to Carrie Ann's laptop in the backseat. Like always, Carrie Ann kept her satchel on her lap, the Soul Dew securely inside.

He was a surprisingly good driver, though, even without lessons or schooling or whatever people called it nowadays. They cruised the interstate to St. Louis, the sun just setting by the time they got there. Carrie Ann insisted she get a photo, so they took the Martin Luther King Jr. bridge, and she snapped a shot with the camera she forgot she had with her until that moment. It was tourist season, and traffic was backed up, leaving the Mercedes in the middle of the back-up. None of the cars had moved in over five minutes, but Cody and Carrie Ann took the inconvenience as a chance to watch the sun set beautifully behind the arch.

And in that last fleeting moment of sunlight, Cody grabbed Carrie Ann's arm, turning her towards him, and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss broke when the light disappeared, both of them breathless at the sparks that surged through their veins. They stared at each other for a minute, and then Carrie Ann leaned forward, her lips meeting his. His tongue grazed along her bottom lip, asking for entry, and she parted her lips to let him in. Their tongues danced, and before they knew it, horns were honking.

The two parted at the sound, but saw the traffic still in place, and Carrie Ann looked around. College-aged people had their heads out of their windows, hooting and hollering, and she couldn't help but blush. Cody just gave the other drivers some thumbs up, and Carrie Ann smacked him across the face, a playful grin on her face. And then they were lip-locked again, tongues dancing, her hand in his hair, his hands on her waist, creeping subtly upward. With her free hand, she smacked his before it got to high, so he decided to cup her cheek and neck with his hands, instead. At the change, Cody felt Carrie Ann smile into the kiss.

Soon, the car horns were going off again, and the guy in the car next to theirs said, "Traffic's movin', lovebirds." The kiss was broken as Cody stepped on the gas, Carrie Ann thanking the guy for the update.

It was ten minutes later when they found a parking space and got out, the top on the Mercedes up, and the two walked hand-in-hand to the base of the Arch. The only bad thing about the meeting was they had no idea what the other Keepers looked like. All they knew was that they were probably in their teens, and would have come alone.

Carrie Ann saw a girl about her age with a messenger bag near the base, texting. Carrie Ann tugged Cody along, and soon they were in front of this girl. "Are you lost or something?" Carrie Ann asked, noting the desperate look on the adolescent's face.

"No." Her voice was soft but sharp. "Waiting for a friend. You know, online dating."

Cody couldn't help but laugh. "Aren't you a little young to be using eHarmony?"

The stranger glared. "Shut up. At least I'm not some pedophile." Cody's strong build and maturity made him look like he was in his mid-twenties, while Carrie Ann still had a youngness about her, matched with her short height, that made her look about ten. "Not everyone you meet online is some forty year old virgin trying to rape you."

Cody let go of Carrie Ann's hand. No one was around; everyone was at the top of the arch. The girl already had her back pressed against the wall, so all he had to do was put his arm across her neck, cutting her air off short. He leaned in to whisper in her ear, but Carrie Ann still heard every word. "I robbed five restaurants last week, so don't do anything rash. You and I both know there isn't any reason to bring a bag like that to a date, so why don't you tell the truth, or I'll empty your bag and figure it out."

Carrie Ann was scared; she hadn't known he was the robber. And here he was, threatening this girl. Carrie Ann tried to hide it, but she was afraid to be near him all of a sudden, even if he was a Keeper. The stranger saw the fear in Carrie Ann's eyes as well, pleading for help. But Cody got irritated by the stranger's silence. He grabbed her hands in his free hand, and took his arm from her neck, picking up the bag from the ground where it had fallen. He flipped it over, the contents spilling out. Berries, a crappy homemade fishing pole, a couple lotion bottles. But the bag still felt heavy.

"Babe, there's some kind of pocket or something," he said, reaching the bag towards Carrie Ann, still focused on the stranger. When no one took the bag from him, he turned his head to see fear paralyzing Carrie Ann.

The restrained girl took his distraction as a chance to get away, kneeing Cody in the nuts. He released his grip on her hands to reach for his crotch, dropping the bag. The girl snatched it up, packing her things as quickly as she could. "I'm calling the police!" she let them know, whipping out her phone.

A bolt of electricity blew it out of her hand. She looked at her unscathed palm in disbelief, and then looked toward the sky, searching for the source.

Carrie Ann came to her senses at the surprise of the bolt as well, and noticed the girl had dropped her bag in her surprise. She grabbed it, digging through all the berries and lotions, trying to find a zipper or pouch or something. She did, and inside it was a wallet, with a trainer ID. Looking back at the girl, Carrie Ann noticed a slight bulge in the girl's jacket pocket.

Looking at the trainer ID, Carrie Ann called out the girl's name. "Stephanie Janson. Nice to meet you too."

Stephanie was alarmed at the sudden sound of her name, and saw Carrie Ann holding her trainer card in between two fingers. "Um, I can explain," she started.

"Don't bother," Carrie Ann cut Stephanie off, "I know you're gonna lie to me anyways." Looking up to the top of the arch, Carrie Ann saw a small silver sphere, slowly descending along the arch as not to draw attention to the boy it was bringing along. She saw a pair of binoculars in Stephanie's bag and looked through them, seeing that the sphere was a Magnemite. It must have been using Magnet Rise to help the brunette boy down. When he reached the ground, the pain in Cody's groin had finally subsided.

The boy's hair was long, down to his shoulders, making him appear as a flat-chested girl due to his small eyes and soft face. Unlike the rest of the group, he wasn't afraid of his Pokémon being seen. Who knew what it appeared as to everyone else. His accent was slightly Latino. "I take it you people are my contacts? A pity you should try to call someone this late in the night, my girl. And you love-birds, it's disgusting how you Americans allow complete strangers to make such rude actions such as jeer at you. Besides, it's disgusting that you do something like that in such a public place anyway."

Carrie Ann just glared at the Spanish boy. He was foreign, so he obviously thought being here was important. A cab came to a stop in the street below, which Cody took notice of as two teenage blondes stepped out of either side, the one wearing heels paying the driver, obviously to sit there as he didn't drive off as the two girls walked up to the arch. One was wearing a blue halter top with silver sequins on it, a long mini-skirt of the same color, and blue wedge shoes with an oak wood heel. The other was wearing a fashionable cabbie hat, a blue-collar shirt with a loosened red plaid tie under a suede blazer, with a cute plaid skirt and silver flats. Bothe had a diamond ring on their right hand's ring finger, and they had their pinkies hooked as they walked up the hill. Although from afar they looked like young adults, they were probably only as old as the rest of the adolescents on the lawn.

The girl in heels spoke first. "I'm missing my yoga class to be here, what is so important?" Her accent was British, not too thick, but not too subtle, either. It was perfect to add to her sexy glory.

The classier of the two spoke next, in that same accent and voice. "Daddy will be wondering why the sudden trip to America. Hurry with it, we plan to stay and can't be keeping our Louis Vuittons in the trunk of that hideous car."

"This is why we never come here, no limousines," the blonde in heels complained.

They were obviously sisters, and by their matching looks, they were twins. Carrie Ann took their plans to stay as an opportunity to find a private location. "Since we're all here, why don't we just go to your hotel?" she asked the blondes. "The rest of us can fit in the Mercedes."

"Fine," the skimpy dressed blonde answered, "but don't stay too long, I don't trust you American strangers."

Carrie Ann and Cody guided the other two to the car, while the twins started toward the hotel. They were staying in one of the most expensive hotels in the city, the Millennium Hotel, and of course the twins were in the penthouse suite. They looked like they came from a rich family.

The six teenagers gathered in the lounge of the twins' suite, which was larger than Carrie Ann's house. Relaxed and in a comfortable room, they all sat in silence.

Carrie Ann decided to lead the 'meeting'.

"We are all here because I contacted you, and I contacted you all because you had been visited to fulfill a prophecy. I take it you all have been met by, own, and see Pokémon. Am I right?" The other kids just nodded, allowing her to continue. "Well, we are the Others. I am the Guardian, in possession of the Soul Dew." Carrie Ann pulled it out of her satchel to prove her point. "So if you all would kindly introduce yourselves. I'm Carrie Ann Harper, and I have a Mareep." She looked over at Cody as if to cue him.

"Oh, I'm Cody Stenzin, I'm the Sea Keeper, and I got a Riolu." Cody spoke as if from a script, his voice flawless, and Carrie Ann couldn't help but smile.

The girl Cody had attacked spoke next, her voice a little shaky. "I'm Stephanie. Janson. And I'm the Sky Keeper. And I have a Surskit." she could hardly spit her words out.

"I," sounded the brunette boy's charming accent, "am Lucas Grayfeild. I have been chosen as the Earth Keeper, with a Magnemite at me side." Now /his/ words sounded Shakespearean, with their elegance.

The twin in the school outfit spoke next. "I am Alice Frasier, of the Frasier family, and this is my sister Caroline. We are the Time and Space Keepers, I with a timely Electrike, and sister with a Zubat."

"Of course," the skimpier dressed twin said, "I get the ugly little bat thing, while Alice gets a dog."

"That's what you get," Alice replied, "for being such a whore." She walked off towards the glass window that surrounded the entire suite, opening the door to the patio that was exclusively for the penthouse suite.

Now that they were all introduced, the teens let out their Pokémon, that mingled and played and relaxed. Caroline served sodas, pouring a glass of champagne for her and her sister, and everyone asked Carrie Ann to see the Soul Dew, which she obliged to.

The twins offered for the group to spend the night, which they all agreed to, and by the time they went to bed, they had learned Lucas was from Mexico, Stephanie was from Vegas, and the twins lived a lavish life in Whales.

The suite was really two stories, with two large bedrooms on the first floor of the room, and a drop-down ladder that led to a second floor with a small lounge and kitchenette, and three other rooms. Each of the rooms had a queen bed and a personal bathroom, as well as a mini fridge.

Stephanie and Lucas went into separate rooms, leaving Carrie Ann and Cody alone in the lounge.

"Looks like I've got you for myself tonight," he said, smirking.

Carrie Ann just glared. "We need to talk. Now." Her voice was not at all playful, and she went into the remaining empty room, Cody following close behind. Their Pokémon had already taken it upon themselves to curl up at the foot of the bed.

"What up, babe?" he asked obliviously.

"What's up is that you lied to me again. You acted like you were some uncaring rebel, but you're really so caring that it's almost disgusting. You told me you worked at some fancy restaurant, but you really got all your money by robbing a couple of restaurants. What else did you lie about, huh? Tell me." Carrie Ann was sweating with rage, straining to keep her voice down.

"I didn't lie," Cody spoke, "about my feelings for you." He walked forward to attempt to wrap his arms around her waist. She moved away from him, her eyes cast downwards.

"No," she said. "You never said anything about feelings-"

"I _showed_ you!" Cody cut her off.

"Shut up! You never said anything about feelings." She was crying now. Crying like a baby that dropped his ice cream. Crying like her mother had in that coffee shop. "How do I know you weren't lying if you never said anything in the first place?"

"Babe," Cody started.

"Don't 'babe' me, _Stenzin_. We're done. Amphoria," her Pokémon perked up at the sound of her name, and hopped off the bed, the Riolu stirring. "I'm sleeping in the lounge." She walked out of the room, wiping tears from her eyes.

The next morning, Cody was missing. And Carrie Ann's satchel.

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**CLIFFHANGER!  
Looking back, I kinda feel like this chapter went a little too fast, like they just met and then suddenly something bad happens, but at least it's got some length to it!  
-I'm jealous of the people that can do, like, 9k words in one chapter, or a one-shot, so yeah...- **


	11. C10: Traitor

**AN: Yes, I did forget to update yesterday.**

**Got eliminated from UBF, so don't have to worry about that much anymore. Gonna start work on my PMD group stuff tomorrow.**

**Also, coming up on the last two weeks of school! Yay!**

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Chapter 10

Traitor

Carrie Ann screamed. The other residents of the hotel suite woke up at the shrill sound, coming into the small lounge, still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

"My beauty sleep is ruined, why? And where is that boyfriend of yours? You two probably soiled the sheets last night." Carrie Ann wasn't sure which of the twins it was, but guessed it was Alice when Caroline motioned for a high-five.

"We didn't even sleep in the same room," Carrie Ann replied, Caroline's palm dropping in disappointment. Carrie Ann recalled her and Cody's fight the previous night, how he'd lied to her. And now both he and her satchel were gone. "Look, the Soul Dew is gone. And Stenzin. So either he took it and ran, or something else got in here last night. Which is more likely?"

They saw her point. Stephanie was about to speak, but the sound of police sirens cut her off. The patio door was wide open still, and the group raced down the rickety ladder and onto the large balcony, following the patrol cars' path with their eyes. A couple fire engines were in the mix, too, all the vehicles heading toward the arch.

"Look!" Stephanie exclaimed, holding out her binoculars to Lucas, who flipped his hair over his shoulder and held the scoped to his eyes.

He almost dropped the set of scopes onto the street at the sight. "Ai, it is the boy. He is on top of the arch with Lulu, with the Soul Dew. And a bunch of freaks with their Pokémon are on the lawn, with ice barricades, a- and—"

"Let me see," Carrie Ann cut him off, snatching the binoculars from the Mexican boy's hands, bringing them to her eyes. She frowned, glaring through the scopes, a sneer on her face. "What a liar. And I kissed him." she spit over the balcony at the thought of yesterday evening stuck in traffic. She took the scopes from her eyes, angry. The other people around the arch were Rockets. "We gotta get down there. Get back the Soul Dew."

Alice took the binoculars, studying each Rocket. "There," she said, "that one has your satchel. He's putting it in the back of a van."

"Amphoria? Where are you?" Carrie Ann spoke aloud, the sound of her voice echoing throughout the suite. There was no answer. No sound of hooves trotting over the hardwood floor. The Mareep was in her Poke Ball, in Carrie Ann's satchel, in the back of a Rocket's truck. Great. "Come on!" she exclaimed, ignoring the people getting off of the elevator and heading down the stairs. The room must have been thirty floors up, but the stairs were wide, spiral, enough room for her to successfully slide down the railing in about three minutes. She got to the lobby just as the elevator doors opened, letting the other teens out.

•I'm coming, Amphoria.• Carrie Ann ran out the door, looking around. A man was just getting on his motorcycle. She shoved him out of the way, the key already in the ignition, and pit on the spare helmet, praying that steering the bike would be easy. It was. She reached the arch while the others were a few blocks away, out of breath.

A man with a brown leather jacket and blue hair stopped her from going any further. "You can't go in there. It's too dangerous."

"Bull," Carrie Ann responded, licking her finger and touching it to his jacket. The man freaked out, running to the nearest truck to wipe the spit off, leaving his Pidgeotto unattended. Carrie Ann faked it out, jumping on its back and telling it to take her to the top of the arch. The bird just bucked underneath her, but Carrie Ann held on tight, and soon it obliged just so Carrie Ann would leave it alone. When Cody saw Carrie Ann flying up to join him and Lulu, as well as a Golbat, he was not happy. Nervous even. Carrie Ann glared at him.

"I should have known. So, when do I get the truth? About you and your Pokémon and Seeing? You bastard."

"Carrie Ann, I can explain-"

"Don't bother. You'll just lie. Once, always. Get out of my face." Carrie Ann waited, Cody was stunned silent. After a minute, he opened his mouth to say something. "I told you I don't want to hear it!" Carrie Ann exclaimed, holding back sobs. Then, she pushed him. Pushed him right off the arch. And he fell to the ground. The Golbat got ready to swoop down and catch Cody, but Carrie Ann grabbed its wing, just like she was holding the Pidgeotto's, and watched as Cody hit the ground, a warm smile on her face. She got onto the Bird's back, letting the Golbat go, and flew down to Cody. She stared down at him, heard his shallow breaths, saw his bones jutting out of his skin in some places. She spit on him.

The other Keepers were right behind Carrie Ann, they had seen everything. They were shocked at the girl's actions, scared a little at what she was capable of. It was a good thing none of the others were traitors.

Carrie Ann ignored their looks, trying to find the nearest van. Of course, it was the van with the blue-haired man, still swabbing at his jacket. Carrie Ann saw the back doors not shut completely, and was relieved that they didn't creek. Inside was her satchel. She grabbed it, sliding it quietly across the floor of the van. Looking inside, she saw the Soul Dew, grabbed it, holding it up to the light to observe its condition.

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**Guys, thanks for all the reviews, I am taking them all seriously. The feedback is awesome so far!**


	12. C11: Kidnapped

**Love the way this has been moving so far! More than halfway to the stock of chapters already written (and my document manager is almost empty - Yikes!), so I'm gonna have a slow-down to an update every Thursday, so you guys will get a new chapter before the weekend and I can start writing up new chappies! And I promise, at around chapter 17 you're going to start seeing longer chapters!**

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Chapter 11

Kidnapped

A pair of callused hands grabbed her free hand's wrist, pulled the other hand down next to it with great strength. Carrie Ann knew the grip before she turned her head to look at him. It was Cody, fully healed, a Chansey packing her egg back into the marsupial-esque pouch in her belly.

He bound her hands with steel ties, so tight they dug into her wrists. He took the Soul Dew, and threw her in the back of the van, closing the doors and binding the handles with steel ties as well. He left her satchel in the van with her, though. There were no windows, and no way could the driver see anything that happened.

Then, the van started moving. She slid towards a wall with a bang, a bump visible on her head. But her satchel was still open, allowing her Poke Ball to roll out. She searched blindly until she grabbed the capsule behind her back, "Amphy, come out!" she spoke as she tossed the Poke Ball. The sheep cried, scared, her coat shimmering, illuminating the van. "Can you gnaw through this wire?" she asked, receiving a joyful cry from the Pokémon, her wool shining brighter. The binding was removed, and Carrie Ann observed her wrists to find them bloody. She grabbed her satchel, finding her other empty Poke Balls, and her electronics. Then she noticed: one of the other Poke Balls had a decal on it, a water droplet. "Great, this whole time I had a second Pokémon." she tossed the capsule, and out came a Feebas. The fish was so horrendous looking, so Carrie Ann took out her hoop earrings and put them on the Pokémon's fins, through the tear holes. It didn't help much, so she pulled a ribbon she kept in her satchel just in case she got to a point so low that she would try to… Well, she didn't like to think about it. She tied the pink ribbon into a bow around the Feebas' head… Or was it its body? Well, whatever it was, the Pokémon looked so much cuter.

It started to glow, and as it shined white, its body elongated into the shape of a serpent. The glow dissipated, and a Milotic was before Carrie Ann. By the number of fins on its tail, she determined the sea snake was male. "Well, there goes Melody." She stared at the Milotic, his colored scales, and the two ribbon-like strips of skin that were usually straight and flat permanently molded into the form of bows. She pulled out her PokeDex, and realized she was mistaken. Four fins on its tail signified the serpent was female. "Melody it is, then!" Observing the standard appearance of the species on her PokeDex and comparing it to Melody, she noticed the long eyebrows were gold, rather than red. This must have been another mutation, caused by the gold earrings Carrie Ann had decorated the Pokémon with.

The Milotic raised her head, the van being shrouded by darkness, only Amphy's faint glow coming through the fog. The darkness fled, and Carrie Ann's wounds were healed. She hugged Melody, the sea snake smiling.

The van came to a stop, and Carrie Ann was ready. During the two hour drive, Carrie Ann had toted around with her PokeDex, and found a function that would show information on her Pokémon, like attacks, gender, stats, and whatever else was important to know. With it, she learned Melody knew Fly, and Amphoria was at level eighteen.

"Raticate," Cody's voice drifted into the van from outside, "use Crunch to cut through this wire." The sound of metal bending could be heard, then a loud snap. The metal door was knocked on, and then opened. An Ice Beam attack hit the Raticate, and then the unexpected Milotic flew off, Carrie Ann grinning as she waved to Cody from her perch on Melody's serpentine form, Amophoria clinging to her trainer's shoulders, wide-eyed with fear when she accidentally looked down.

Cody had been alone, it seemed, and he sent out his Golbat, Lulu hopping into its back. Then, the Riolu jumped off of the bat, charging an Aura Sphere and hitting Melody. The snake lost momentum, and fell towards the forest floor alongside Lulu, until the dog was caught by the Golbat and safely flown back to Cody. Melody finally summoned the strength to fly again, rising into the air, Carrie Ann grabbing onto the serpent's tail before she fell to her doom, Amphy still clinging to her shoulders with fear. Melody safely landed, and Carrie Ann went over to the van to face Cody.

"Stenzin," she sneered.

"_Harper_," he mocked.

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**Cliffhanger! Dun dun dunnn! lol, but yeah, sorry that you guys have to wait an entire week to read the next chapter, instead of just a few days.. Welp, good luck with all that suspense!**


	13. C12: Battle

**Sorry that this is late... Enjoy!**

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Chapter 12

Battle

Amphy jumped from her perch right in front of Carrie Ann, teeth bared at Cody. The Riolu wished to protect, and mimicked Amphy's actions.

"Amphoria, Shockwave! Melody, Ice Beam!" Carrie Ann commanded her Pokémon, starting a two-on-two Pokémon battle.

"Lulu, Aura Sphere. Nitter, Air Cutter." Cody was much calmer with his commands, and soon the Pokémon were surrounded by a cloud of smoke. The Shockwave had damaged all three of the other Pokémon, but the Air Cutter had hurt Amphy severely. The collision of the Ice Beam and the Aura Sphere had resulted in the dust cloud.

"Amphy, get on Melody's back. Melody, Fly. Amphy, you know what to do." Carrie Ann didn't want Cody hearing her strategy, and soon her Pokémon were above the tree line.

Cody didn't have time to give out a command, as the Milotic came into view again; slamming into Lulu, while Amphoria had jumped off of Melody's back mid-air and stomped powerfully on the Golbat. Both of Cody's Pokémon fainted.

"Nitter… Lulu…" Cody sighed, jogging up to his unconscious Pokémon. Carrie Ann nodded at Melody, who floated forward and used Moonlight to heal everyone.

"This doesn't mean we re-battle," Carrie Ann clarified, climbing onto Melody's back, Amphy on her shoulders. She held out her hand, and Cody tried to grab it. Carrie Ann pulled it away, shaking her head. "The Soul Dew," she said, but he shrugged, hopped on his freshly healed Golbat, and flew off. "Amphy, Thunder."

The sheep jumped as high into the air as she could, then curled her legs together in concentration, and unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity that hit Nitter. Cody and his Pokémon hit the ground, right next to Carrie Ann. "I'll ask you one last time."

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**No, this chapter is not in-complete. I read through everything, and it is supposed to just drop off at the end like that . as confusing as it seems...**

**Yes, this was a short chapter, I know. That's why I'm going to post chapter 13 as well. Because chapter 13, well... You'll see!**


	14. C13: Truth

**Like I promised, chapter 13 up a week early! I really like this chapter for some reason! Hope you enjoy it too!**

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Chapter 13

Truth

Carrie Ann's Milotic landed under the arch. It was blocked off by police cars and fire engines, as well as news vans and helicopters. "Go take a dip," Carrie Ann told Melody, who nuzzled Carrie Ann before hopping into the river. Carrie Ann turned around, and Amphoria shuddered, shrinking behind her trainer's head. Officers were pointing their guns at her, while a couple of men went on a boat on the river, letting a net fall into the water to fish out Melody.

"Great," she muttered, holding her hands up. She looked around; Lucas was sitting on the back of an ambulance with bandaged knees. Alice and Caroline were complaining to an officer from the backseat of a police car. Stephanie was nowhere to be seen. The only good thing about the situation was Carrie Ann had the Soul Dew tucked into her satchel.

Three officers ran up to Carrie Ann, one grabbing her hands and cuffing them behind her back while the other two handled a cage. "Don't touch her wool, it's full of electricity," Carrie Ann warned them, but they ignored her, one grabbing the sheep Pokémon and getting a shock. The other snickered, trying to coax the Mareep into the cage. "Go on, Amphy, it'll be okay. You'll be fine." With Carrie Ann's reassurance, Amphoria trotted nervously into the cage, and was locked in it. "Don't hurt her," she told the officers as they took the sheep to a police car.

Melody was netted and put into the back of a van, which was sealed as tight as possible, and a hose was stuck into an opening in the top to fill the vehicle with water. Carrie Ann was taken to a separate car, her head pushed down, cameras flashing and reporters blabbing the news.

The ride to the police station was short, and soon she was thrown into a cell at the end of the hall. A couple minutes later more footsteps, the sound of a cell door slamming. Then the same sounds seconds later. Then silence, long and tense. Carrie Ann felt alone; she was without her Pokémon, and the officers had taken her satchel. They had the Soul Dew, and she hoped to god it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. She stood by the metal rails for what seemed like hours, gripping the bars that separated her from freedom.

"I'm sorry." The voice came from the back of the cell, and Carrie Ann was filled with rage. She turned around, glaring at Cody, who was sitting on the edge of the metal bunk. He looked like he was holding back tears, like he'd already cried them. He looked at her with such self-disappointment he looked suicidal, and it tugged at Carrie Ann's heart. She wouldn't let it show, though.

"Tell me the truth," she spat, arms crossed, feeling vulnerable.

"I recognized them. As soon as I saw them. My parents, blue and red hair, you can't erase that from your mind. They knew it was me by my smile. They said, get the Soul Dew, and we'll love you forever. And I gave in. But I was wrong. I'm sorry." Carrie Ann was angry, but she couldn't help but sympathize for him. She walked over and gave him a hug, then slapped him across the face.

"I'll never forgive you," she told him, holding back tears of her own. But he was happy she believed him finally. He wrapped his arms around her waist, but she slapped him away. She wasn't ready to make-up with him.

"What now," he wondered, looking to the floor as Carrie Ann went back to the metal bars. She looked as far as she could down the narrow hallway, but she couldn't see anyone, and no one was in the cells on the opposite side of hers.

"We wait," she said, staring hard at the wall. She was remembering what Latias had told her the previous morning. Her Keepers gave her power, in return for her strength. "Are you really the Sea Keeper?"

He studied her, and she felt his stare. After a long silence, he spoke. "Yes."

"So, do you know anything about the relationship between the Guardian and her Keepers?" She knew it, but she wondered if he did as well.

"Possessive much? Haha, I know that it's bad if you get separated from us. Well, bad for you, at least. We gain strength from you, or something." Cody didn't seem to know too much.

"So you knew you could beat me, if you needed to. Because you had strength." Carrie Ann didn't ask. She knew his answer.

"Yes." He was ashamed of himself, she knew. He had taken advantage of her ignorance, almost ruined their purpose, and all he could say was 'sorry.'

"Latias told me. I gain power, you gain strength. Balance. But power, I just don't understand. What kind of power? Like a Pokémon's power, or something else, something more…" Carrie Ann continued her staring contest with the wall, concentrating on whatever she could.

"I just wish we weren't stuck in here. And where are the others at?" She was getting irritated; she didn't know how long she could stay in here with Cody before she broke.

"Carrie Ann," a British voice echoed through the hall, "is that you, dear? It's Alice." Carrie Ann broke her gaze, trying to see as far out as she could, and saw a hand reaching out, a diamond ring hugging the ring finger.

A second diamond-clad hand appeared, and an identical voice called out, "Caroline too!"

"Hey! Good to see you two! Well, your hands at least." the twins were so far down the hall, it was impossible that Carrie Ann could even see their outstretched hands.

Lucas's voice rang out softly, not echoing too much, but still quite loud. "You lovebirds have some interesting conversations." He was obviously in the next cell over, and by his words, he had most likely been eavesdropping.

"Stephanie here!" the girl said, shaking the metal bars, the rattling sound echoing loudly.

A door slammed open at the end of the hall, and Carrie Ann was certain the others were backing into the shadow of their cell just like she was. Footsteps stomped down the hall, to the very last cell. He unlocked the door and slid it open, and Cody jumped up from his position to try to escape. The guard was alert, though, grabbing Cody by the neck and throwing him the ground of the cell. Carrie Ann cowered in the shadows, forcing the man to come into the cell to get her. "Don't worry; you'll be safer where you're going. No annoying kids."

"He's coming with me," Carrie Ann countered, crossing her arms. "I won't leave my friends."

"Friend?" the guard was stunned. "You shoved this boy off the top of the arch, it was streamed live to every television set in America, and he's your friend? You've got issues. Come with me please, and you won't have to see this boy for a couple hours. And however long you like afterwards."

The man was stalled for long enough, Cody had gotten up and snuck out of the cell. His pocket-knife hadn't been confiscated, and it had all sorts of gadgets. He picked the locks of all the other cells, telling them to stay quiet. Then, he snuck his way back into the cell before the guard saw.

The man huffed. "Ma'am, we don't want to use force, but if it gets down to it, we will."

"I won't leave him. It's both of us or neither." Carrie Ann was solid with her words, her voice unwavering and confident.

"Fine. Both of you follow me." He walked out of the cell, eyeing Cody, who was standing right by the open cell door. They walked down the hall, Cody winking at each of the other teens as they glared at him for what he'd done. All of them but Lucas, who had heard everything.

The guard led the two out to the offices of the police station, and let Carrie Ann into an interrogation room, Cody in another.

A blonde-haired fat man sat on the other side of the table. Carrie Ann sat down, looking long and hard at the edge of the table. "What's your name, sweetie?" he asked, looking in a manila envelope. Carrie Ann remained silent. "We need you to admit to the crimes you've committed.

Carrie Ann was confused. Crimes? What crimes? The questions were answered at the sight of her face. "Well, for one, you pushed a kid off of the arch. That's attempted murder. And you—" the officer was cut off, a sound of static barely audible coming from his earpiece.

"Ma'am, I understand you were kidnapped? Come with me." He got up, opening the door as the guard grabbed Carrie Ann up from her chair and dragged her down the hall to a one-way window, with a bunch of Rockets lined up. Cody was one of them. "Which one put you in the van?" Carrie Ann's lips were sealed. The officer asked three more times, and still no answer. "Put her in confinement. That should break her."

Carrie Ann's eyes went wide, scared. She would be alone, vulnerable. The guard had let go of her arm upon entering the room, and she saw this as her chance. She walked forward, squinting. She couldn't turn Cody in. She saw the intercom button on the wall, and pressed it. "Cody?" she spoke, hoping he would play along. He did.

"Carrie Ann? Carrie Ann!" He stepped off of the platform that the rest of the suspects stood on, looking around the room. "Where are you?"

"Out here. Cody, don't leave me." by then, two more guards came in, trying to pull her from the intercom. When they finally did, she was in tears, screaming the words as if he could hear her.

She was taken to an empty room with grey walls. Nothing was in it, not even a chair. She sat on the floor, silent, staring at the door cold and hard. She wasn't sure how long she was in there. No food came when she was hungry. She didn't dare sleep no matter how tired she got. She was weak. Vulnerable. She hated it. She missed the company of the others, the comfort they brought. They were nothing without her, and she was nothing without them.

She finally couldn't take it anymore, and lay back on the cold cement floor, closed her eyes, and started towards a rewarding slumber for her stubbornness.

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**Yeah, so that's it for now. See you next Thursday!**


End file.
